Massena, NY, Nov 19, 2009 — On the St. Lawrence Seaway's website, there's a picture of a freighter docked next to mountains of "containers" - those boxes that fit on trucks and trains and carry virtually every good you can think of. Containers are the currency of global trade. Yet they're passing the St. Lawrence Seaway by. Just a tenth of one percent of all cargo that travelled the St. Lawrence Seaway this year came in a container. Most of the cargo is bulk commodities, stuff like iron ore, coal, steel, and grain - the building blocks of industry that just disappear when the economy tanks. So it's no surprise 2009 was a brutal year for the Seaway, with tonnage down 30%. In fact, Seaway traffic has for the most part decreased since the late 1970s. This all gives Terry Johnson a headache. As head of the U.S. side of the shipping channel that links the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, Johnson's in charge of turning those numbers around. He told David Sommerstein if gas goes back up to 4 dollars a gallon, or if the roads become clogged with truck traffic, the Seaway will benefit. But for now, Johnson places his hopes in those containers. And he hopes they'll come from Nova Scotia.  Go to full article

Massena, NY, Nov 17, 2009 — The head of the St. Lawrence Seaway is doing a blitz through the North Country. U.S. Administrator Terry Johnson met with local media. And yesterday he visited the offices of Save The River in Clayton for the first time since being appointed three years ago. The environmental group has often been at odds with the agency that runs the shipping lanes that link the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. Johnson says he was disturbed by questions over Seaway expansion during the 23rd Congressional race. He says he wants to set the record straight: digging deeper channels in the St. Lawrence River is off the table. "It's a non-issue," Johnson says. "It's just not gonna happen." Yesterday, Johnson spoke with David Sommerstein at Seaway headquarters in Massena. Later this week, we'll hear their conversation about the economics of the Seaway and why traffic has dropped off over the years. Today, Johnson talks about invasive species, shipping during springtime icy conditions, and the history of mistrust many North Country residents have toward the Seaway.  Go to full article

Clayton, NY, Aug 10, 2009 — A North Country green group has sounded the alarm about climate change legislation recently approved by the House of Representatives. Save The River, based in the Thousand Islands, sent an alert to members to tell their senators to keep expansion of the St. Lawrence Seaway out of new climate change legislation.

Expansion of the international shipping lanes is an old issue. The Army Corps of Engineers has studied the idea for years. But there's been little political muscle behind it. Seaway Administrator Terry Johnson has said Seaway expansion is "off the table." But Save The River Director Jennifer Caddick says that's apparently not so. She told Martha Foley a last minute amendment to the House climate change bill passed in late June would provide funding for the physical work--bigger locks, channel dredging--needed to allow bigger ships to use the waterway.  Go to full article

Massena, NY, Jul 10, 2009 — U.S. and Canadian dignitaries will officially open the St. Lawrence Seaway's 50th anniversary celebration this afternoon in Massena. The Obama Administration is sending department of transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Seaway administrator Terry Johnson will also be on hand to speak. Johnson took over the U.S. agency that runs the Seaway two and a half years ago. He spoke with David Sommerstein about the waterway's legacy and future.  Go to full article

Jul 08, 2009 — On July 1st, 1958, the once wild waters of the St. Lawrence River began to rise up behind the massive Moses-Saunders hydropower dam. A year later, the river officially opened to international shipping as the St. Lawrence Seaway. We're recalling that 50th anniversary this week. But that day - now 51 years ago -- is known locally as Inundation Day. The rising water swallowed nine whole villages and hamlets on the Canadian side of the river, known today as the Lost Villages. 530 homes were moved or destroyed. 6500 people were forced to higher ground. You can still see roads that disappear into the river. Old foundations emerge when the water level drops. The memories of life before Inundation Day remain strong in today's towns on the northern banks of the St. Lawrence River. The Lost Villages Museum there brought the old days back to life recently with a Ghost Tour. As a part of our special coverage of the Seaway's 50th Anniversary, David Sommerstein went along and has our story.  Go to full article

Massena, NY, Jul 07, 2009 — 50 years ago this summer, the first freighters slipped through the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Seaway realized a decades-old plan to open Great Lakes ports to vessels in the Atlantic Ocean. It brought some economic development to the North Country, but also pollution and invasive species. And the waters that rose up behind the huge Moses-Saunders power dam flooded whole villages, forcing families to leave everything they'd ever known. Tomorrow we'll hear the story of the Lost Villages in Ontario. But today we get a sense of the vastness of the project from an oral historian who interviewed the people who built it. Claire Puccia-Parham is a history professor at Siena College in Albany and a Watertown native. She's published a book about the Seaway workers entitled The St. Lawrence Power Seaway and Power Project: An Oral History of the Greatest Construction Show on Earth. She and some of the workers she interviewed will be speaking Thursday night in Massena. Puccia-Parham told David Sommerstein many Seaway workers still live in or around St. Lawrence County.  Go to full article

Clayton, NY, Jun 29, 2009 — July will be a month of celebration and reflection as the St. Lawrence Seaway, and its locks, channels, and hydropower dam near Massena, turns 50. The waterway brought global trade to the St. Lawrence River, but also pollution, invasive species, and one catastrophic oil spill. More than 50 environmental groups across the region are releasing a seven-point agenda for a cleaner future for the Seaway. Jennifer Caddick directs one of those groups, Save the River, based in Clayton. She told David Sommerstein the 50th anniversary is bittersweet for residents of the Thousand Islands.  Go to full article

Alexandria Bay, NY, Mar 31, 2009 — Today a little before noon, a Canadian flagged freighter will slip through the locks in Montreal and usher in the 50th shipping season of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Dignitaries from the United States and Canada will be on hand to celebrate. When the Seaway was completed in 1959, a decades-old dream of connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean was realized. As David Sommerstein reports, the anniversary is already stoking an ongoing debate about its economic and environmental legacy.  Go to full article

Sep 08, 2008 — The binational board that controls water levels on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario is doing an about-face that's a victory for environmentalists. In a letter Thursday to Secretary of State Condolezza Rice, the International Joint Commission said there was "little support" for the water levels plan that came out of a five-year, $20-million study. The IJC appears to be abandoning the plan, saying it is "not a practical option." Instead, the IJC said 20 public hearings and more than a thousand comments over the last year indicated "broad, strong interest" for returning the natural ebbs and flows to the river and lake. That was the overwhelming opinion across the North Country. Jennifer Caddick directs Save the River, based in Clayton. Save the River led a campaign for management of water levels that's better for the environment. Caddick told David Sommerstein the IJC's announcement is encouraging news.  Go to full article

Aug 08, 2008 — The ballast tanks of foreign Seaway ships are the number one vector of invasive species in the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes. Invaders like the zebra mussel and round goby cost the region hundreds of million dollars a year. Some environmentalists and scientists have called for the Seaway to turn away foreign freighters until they install sophisticated treatment systems to clean the ballast tanks. A new report by the National Academy of Sciences says that's not necessary. The 4-year study by 13 scientists says rules adopted this year requiring all foreign ships to flush their ballast tanks with salt water before entering the Great Lakes are sufficient. U.S. Seaway Adminstrator Terry Johnson praised the committee's findings. He said closing the Seaway to foreign traffic would be "legally unfeasible, politically unrealistic, and economically disastrous" for the U.S. and Canada. Hugh MacIsaac was a member of the study team. He researches invasive species at the University of Windsor in Ontario. MacIsaac told David Sommerstein that salt-water flushing of ballast tanks, known as "swish and spit," is the best existing way to stop invasives. And it lacks the political controversy closing the Seaway to foreign ships would have.  Go to full article